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New member Username: Jozini123Post Number: 1 Registered: Nov-14 | my CD player wont recognise any discs I put in.. I've tried a laser cleaning cd but still doesn't work. As I am a female aged 70++ I can't do any techie stuff myself. Should I try to get this repaired or bite the bullet and buy a cheaper CD player? |
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Gold Member Username: MagfanUSA Post Number: 3205 Registered: Oct-07 | Getting an older CD player fixed is probably an exercise in futility. Lasers age and eventually don't have enough light output. There might be an 'adjustment' for this on a board somewhere, probably easily accessible, but I don't have the manual / service info. I'd have to actually see your player to determine if another problem existed. Noisy transport can sometimes simply need a LITTLE lubrication. Belts go away if used. A local tech may be able to advise and write off the estimate cost against an eventual fix. However, these days you CAN purchase a commodity player which will probably equal or better your near-2 decade old Marantz. That would be something like the 300$ Parasound which HAD been on special for 200$. I missed my chance at the lower price point. Parasound ZCD is the model. Other 300$ or so players may be offered by the likes of NAD or Cambridge Audio. I'd stick with the Parasound, but that's just me. |
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Platinum Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 17999 Registered: May-04 | . I'm going to disagree with leo a bit. The laser in your player does not dim over time. It's a laser, it either works or it doesn't. Having worked in and around audio repair shops for a few decades, what I've seen in CD failures is typically one of two things. Both relate to the laser's inability to accurately track the disc. The first problem is the metal rails upon which the laser assembly rides become worn or so full of hardened lubricant the laser cannot respond to the very small adjustments required to follow the data stream embedded in the disc. The second issue is related to the first in that the data stream is corrupted somewhere in the signal path, typically at the error correction systems. On occasion, either of these problems can be adjusted by a technician and the player can work again. However, I'd say that's a rather slim possibility in most players as they age and possibly money poorly spent on a unit which may not continue to work well in another few months. The age of disposable electronics is where we are at now and most components simply do not get repaired. They get put in recycle and the owner moves on to a new unit which makes profit for the manufacturers. When the player will no longer read the subcodes at the very front of a disc and then set up for play mode, a laser cleaner is seldom going to help. Dust can't reach the laser assembly and the system is designed to ignore relatively large items such as dust on the laser's lens. Environmental pollutants can place a thick layer of gunk on the lens but you would normally have to be a very heavy smoker for this to occur. A laser cleaner won't touch nicotine film. Pollutants and fingerprints, however, can be on your CD's and you can try washing the discs with a grease cutting detergent such as Dawn. Use just the smallest drop of detergent on the play side of the disc and gently rub the disc from the center outward in a straight line to the edge - work in a straight line pattern only! Do not go in circular patterns which would follow the path of the data stream embedded in the disc or you'll likely make matters worse. Rinse with warm water and carefully dry the disc with a very, very soft towel in that same center to outer edge, straight line pattern. Be gentle so as not to put any scratches on the surface of the disc. Cleaning the disc's surface will allow the laser to better read data which would otherwise be outside of its ability to perform error correction and what is called "buffering". This may make some discs better and not affect others. There's no way to tell in advance. Copy this and place it into a search engine - http://www.howtocleanstuff.net/how-to-clean-a-cd/ The data stream of "pits and flats" (the digital 1's and 0's) as they are called is embedded into the middle layer of a CD and is only a fraction the width of a human hair. Like old fashioned LP's, the "groove" carrying the data is virtually never completely centered on the disc. The disc is spinning at several hundred RPM. Therefore, since the laser can only move forward and backward along its rails, the laser assembly must move back and forth several times to retrieve the data by reading the data stream in parts several times and then correcting the stream into an assembled whole. As the laser assembly wears and lubricants harden, this small, rapid movement becomes less and less possible until, eventually, the entire laser assembly must be replaced. At that point, considering the lack of available parts needed for repair, it's almost always better to simply buy a new player. This simple cleaning technique may get your discs playing again but your description of the player's condition would indicate it is not likely to get better - only worse as time goes forward. I have no idea how old your player is since I see reviews of that model all the way back to 1997. It was, in the total scheme of things, a moderately priced player that likely would not warrant repair today. IF you can find a local service station which does work on Marantz products (most manufacturers nowdays only have regional service shops and that would involve the added costs of shipping on top of the shop's repair bill), you can, as leo suggests, take the unit in along with a few CD's which are especially problematic and ask for an estimate of repair costs. Normally, this will be around $40 to 60 paid up front and the estimate cost will be applied to any work done to facilitate repairing the unit. If you decide not to proceed with repairs, the shop keeps the estimate cost and you move on to a new player. With shop rates running around $60 per hour average, it's not unimaginable your estimate could run into the $150 or above range. If the unit can be repaired at all. Most laser assemblies are outdated in a few years and those companies building transports are no longer building old school transports for CD systems. That means there's a good chance the laser assembly for your player is not available to the shop for any repair work. Unfortunately, this is the world of audio/electronics non-repair in which we now live. Most products simply are not repaired nor are they designed to be repairable. When they fail, the customer is advised it is in their best financial interest to just buy a new unit. There are still stand alone CD players on the market. Marantz retails several models you might consider if you have been happy with your old player; http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=MACD6005 or you have a universal remote programmed to the Marantz codes. Though a new unit might not completely match your remote, they would be a familiar component to operate. IMO though it would probably be worth your money to consider and possibly invest in a BluRay player which can also function as a "music server" of sorts. The BluRay player will have the backwards compatibility to play your CD's and DVD's along with the most modern disc system available for high definition movies. This would especially be of interest, IMO, if your audio system is also part of your TV/video system AND you have wireless internet capacity in your home or your computer is located in close proximity to your audio/video system. (And, don't forget, your computer probably has a disc playback system included which you could use to feed a signal to your audio system. If you have a DVD player in the same system, it too is backward compatible to play CD's. This would typically be just a matter of the correct cables connecting the components. Most retailers selling computers or audio equipment could assist you in making this connection. Take in your owner's manuals for the computer or DVD player and your amplifier and they'll show you how and where to make the connections.) With a modern BluRay player you could have access to the numerous internet radio stations such as Pandora. Tell Pandora to play music from your favorite artist(s) and it will automatically assemble a play list for you. Or refine the contents to your particular tastes. You can find more information regarding internet radio stations by doing a simple search on the web. (There is also the possibility of switching to a computer based music system where your existing CD's are stored on an external hard drive and simply accessed through your computer's operating system. That, though, is a bit more complicated and would need far more discussion than is appropriate for this thread.) Whichever way you go, unless you are simply tied to the Marantz for some reason, I wouldn't myself be putting a lot of money into a more than three to five year old CD only player right now. The decent alternatives are simply too inexpensive to not consider moving forward IMO. . |
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Gold Member Username: MagfanUSA Post Number: 3207 Registered: Oct-07 | At least BLUE LEDS age. I'm fairly certain based on the intro, that other color LEDs will be prone to the same physics: http://www.ecti-thailand.org/assets/papers/516_pub_25.pdf |
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Platinum Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 18000 Registered: May-04 | . We can dance around this for awhile if it's that important to you, leo. I doubt the op is that interested, her CD player doesn't work and it likely isn't important whether the laser got too dim or didn't slide on the transport. Either way, a new transport would be required and the result would be the same; she'll probably be told it can't be fixed. Otherwise, I'm not sure an article on a blue LED "used in general electrical appliances and electronic devices such as function panels in cars and keypads light in mobile phones" applies to a "laser" (yes, it's just a glorified LED with a focusing lens on it) in a CD transport. My understanding is the laser either works or it doesn't when there is insufficient Voltage. I suppose there might be a short period of time where the Voltage is decreasing and the laser dims but in my experience, this isn't the typical cause for a player that won't set up. If you want to spend the time looking for more information,let me know. http://www.edaboard.com/thread122725.html http://lampizator.eu/LAMPIZATOR/TRANSPORT/laser/Laserology.html http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/cdfaq.htm#cdtopfc Anyway, think about it this way, leo, even should a laser in a CD transport "dim" with age, the buffering and error correction circuits would compensate for the loss of data. I'd place a bet on the laser transport being worn or gummed up before I put my money on a dim laser. . |
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Gold Member Username: MagfanUSA Post Number: 3208 Registered: Oct-07 | In general, they WORK or NOT. True. There is a sensitivity / threshold adjustment ON BOARD which can be used to compensate for aging LED. That's on the 'receiver' side of the circuit. In circuits I've worked on using phototransistor / receiver pairs, you'll also SOMETIMES find such adjustments. Usually, they are over spec'd and that isn't an issue. The stuff I've built using a simple RED LED as a power indicator has the LED 'fade out' when power is removed. The LED is being used in a very simple circuit and is fairly near the power supply caps. I think we agree that the player is pretty much shot. I DO like the idea of a universal player, if the OP is in the least concerned with TV / video applications. Other projects are a priority. I'm looking at used table saws to aid in the construction of a PAIR of amp stands for my Parasounds. I just got done with MOST of a garage renovation for winter car parking and making room for my next projects�... |